Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cost-Increasting Bells and Whistles

Is there a job title for the people who keep coming up with all sorts of new technology (read: crap that most people don't want to have or to pay for) to be included on cars in an effort to drive the prices ever higher and higher?

People want it....they just don't want to pay for it.

Trust me, I just want a damn phone to call with, but I'm easily outnumbered by people who don't talk or want to tell/show the world everything about them.

Just saw 0's finest today dressed in PJ's around noon; they spent $250 for a keyless entry/remote start and wanted another $200 in custom floomats, even though they admitted they didn't have the money, (meaning the .gov check) wasn't deposited yet.

Economic boom, via the commie credo.....

I don't want it. I just want simple.

What he said... If you want to talk to me make an effort - otherwise GFY

Me too....but we're outnumbered by Tweeters and Facebook'ers.....and those who need stowaway running boards....or even just the running boards!

Yes, they're called design engineers. They work on the orders of managers that direct them to come up with all that stuff to increase profits. It's not on there by accident, it's on there because it makes them a lot of extra money because wifey doesn't want to admit to the other women on the street that her minivan doesn't have a heated steering wheel.

Peer pressure and keeping up with the Joneses have made car companies a lot of money over the years.

I am convinced engineers lay awake nights dreaming up things that are AFU for the consumers -then giggling about them at their conventions

if you actually knew any engineers you would know they find nothing funny bout any of it and honestly think they are improvements.....engineers have no sense of humor....

Remember when we had 5 MPH bumpers?
What happen to that?

I'd say "Government" is responsible for about 1/2 of it.

I doubt there's much being produced now that will still be fully functional or even repairable 15 years down the road.

A radio and a heater/air condtioner are about the only electronics I want on a rig. They can keep all the blue tooth gadgets, cameras, remote starts, electronic keys, and warning systems. Used to be we used rigs to go places. Now they're family entertainment systems so that traveling families can all plug in and ignore one another.

Put 50% wear on ones tires and blow out a sidewall, and one has to buy 4 new ones because the systems can't handle one tire being a couple millimeters smaller than the others. BS Grind the new one down to where it matches the older ones.

Can one actually get a manual transmission anymore? I'm going to run my present rigs until they literally fall apart.

all those gadgets, trinkets and EPA or safety BS is why cars in China are half or less with about twice the mileage as what they are here.

will say remote start kicks arse when its -40

I wish they would make a pick-up with out all the extras. If they do, I never see them. Most trucks now seem to be luxury models.

I want stuff I can fix but cars have gone way beyond my knowledge.

I want very few bells and whistles. Only bell or whistle i want is ac, heat, power steering and a cargo light.

Problem is these smart people make many of the extras flippin useless! When I turn the cargo light in my truck on the dam dome lights come on too. You can't even see in the bed because the interior lights are on. Educated idiots run/ruin everything. Mass consumers are brain dead sheep, free thinkers live in a aggravating world. Its how it is now.

Another thing,,, who in the he11 ever thought carpet in a truck was a good idea? idiocy complete and total idiocy.

Fug em...
This is my primary automobile, my everyday truck.
I'm more than happy to hear gas slosh behind my seat, air whistle in the quarter windows, listen to AM radio and key lock the doors from the outside.
I have no air conditioner, power...anything.
Navigation consists of a folded road atlas.
My interior lighting is a keychain flashlight hanging from the blinker arm and my clock is a Timex in the ashtray.

My baby has an ameinty list that starts with heater and ends with dual speed wiper blades.

She's a real beaut!

I gotta say, that a LOT of the safety items are kick azz today. Whether I want em or not.

And there are some of the things on there that are nice to have.

I don't care for power windows... having replaced more than a few window motors is a PITA mostly.
Power locks are not bad though. But they have to be fixed.

I prefer vinyl seats and floorboards, carpet etc... sucks.

I LOVE the new backup cameras.

The lane change sensors sure can be nice too... keep you from a mistake in a blind spot.

The phones in the dash, blue tooth or wahtever are certainly way safer and nicer since we seem to be in the communication era.....

But even in 1986 when I was after a new truck, it was HARD to find the 3/4 ton standard with power nothing.

And I have that 86 still... and drive a 96 explorer, that I'm actually glad has airbags the 86 doesnt. But taht 96 is over 350K miles and not sure how much longer I can milk it....

Hey, don't knock the automatic running boards. I'm a bit crippled up, a little less since the spinal cord surgery, but those fold away running boards make it easy for me to get up in my 4x4 truck. The wife likes them too, she had trouble with the nurf bars. That nice flat surface on the AMP Research running boards makes everyone happy, and they are out of the way when zipping around.

What I don't like are the center consoles found on every new car and truck. That's why I bought a cheaper model that came with a bench seat - or what passes for a bench seat these days. Those enormous center consoles prevent me from spreading out my right leg, necessary to be comfortable. If I had to buy a one of those bathtub cockpit junkers, it would need to go to the custom shop to have the console removed.

Then there are those distracting video displays, completely worthless GPS thingies that are only good for becoming lost in dangerous places, video backup cameras (now mandated on new vehicles), ABS brakes that are crap on dirt and gravel roads, and vehicles that go into limp mode - heck, I already am in limp mode. I had to purchase a super duper DTC reader just in case some sensor glitched and I need to reset the code.

I really hate/love the Old Man Sensor that sets off a chime and driver notification message when I leave the turn signal on for over 3/4 mile. Crap, what's the fun in that?

Or how about the new diesel trucks that you need to keep a tank of Diesel Exhaust Fluid filled? DEF, yeah it's nothing but urea and deionized water, urea is urine, a product of protein metabolism in animals. It reduces NOx emissions. So now they have us buying urine to pour into our trucks. If the tank runs dry - limp mode.

Then there is my 39 year old van. Not a computer on it, just a single ignition module in the distributor, I carry a spare that can be replaced in ten minutes. Why that thing runs great with more parts missing than any other car I ever owned, with the possible exception of a 1949 Mercury 2dr I once had. If it gets much worse, I may have to move to Amish country and buy a team of Standardbred horses. Heck, my last horse knew the way home and unlike the GPS was infallible. "Get us home, Captain," and we were on our way. Come to think of it, the old Captain knew voice commands too, and they brag about self-driving cars! At least I won't have to worry about adding urea to the Dobbin Brothers.